Auswirkungen und Risiken der Produktion mineralischer Dünger : eine kartographische Auseinandersetzung

Based on a literature research this bachelor thesis examines the risks and effects of the production of NPK fertilizers and visualizes the results in the form of maps. The future availability of reserves is among the most important risks in the production of P and K fertilizers. The main risk in the production of N fertilizers lies in the high energy consumption generated in the process. While there are no direct environmental impacts documented for N, there are several documented cases of local environmental damage for P and K. The results of this study indicate that the situation of the global K reserves should be classified as more critical than previously assumed. Since the P reserves were massively revised upward in 2011, the outlook for this resource is more positive than in the past. In the near future the largest reserves of both elements will be spread among fewer countries, thus making all the others dependent on them even more. For the production of N fertilizers the high energy consumption is currently the only limiting factor. However, an increased scarcity of fossil fuels, expected in the near future, might lead to problems. The present thesis also demonstrates that predicting the life of a resource is always subject to considerable uncertainty.Die vorliegende Bachelorarbeit untersucht anhand einer Literaturrecherche die Risiken und Auswirkungen der Produktion von NPK-Düngern und visualisiert sie in Form von Karten. Zu den wichtigsten Risiken gehört bei der Produktion von Phosphor- und Kaliumdüngemitteln die Verfügbarkeit der Reserven, bei Stickstoffdüngern der hohe Energieverbrauch bei der Herstellung. Während bei N keine direkten Umweltauswirkungen dokumentiert sind, liegen für P und K diverse belegte Fälle von lokalen Umweltschäden vor. Die Ergebnisse der Studie zeigen auf, dass die Situation der globalen K-Reserven kritischer eingestuft werden muss als bisher angenommen. Da die P-Reserven im Jahr 2011 massiv nach oben korrigiert wurden, stimmen die Prognosen für diese Ressource zuversichtlicher als auch schon. Die grössten Reserven beider Elemente werden in nächster Zukunft aber auf immer weniger Länder verteilt sein, was grosse Abhängigkeiten von diesen mit sich bringt. Für die Herstellung von Stickstoffdüngern ist der hohe Energieverbrauch momentan der einzige limitierende Faktor. Dies ist insofern problematisch, als dass in nächster Zeit mit der Verknappung fossiler Energieträger gerechnet werden muss. Grundsätzlich beweist die vorliegende Arbeit aber auch, dass Voraussagen bezüglich der Lebensdauer einer Ressource immer mit grossen Unsicherheiten verbunden sind

Die Schweizer Eisbergsalat-Lieferkette : Akteure, Abhängigkeiten und Arbeitsbedingungen

Die Schweizer Gemüsebranche steht vor verschiedenen Herausforderungen. Während sich innerhalb der Branche der Preiswettbewerb verschärft, nehmen gleichzeitig die Anforderungen an die eingesetzten Produktionsmittel und die Qualität der Produkte zu. Dazu kommt die Abhängigkeit von wenigen Detailhändlern sowie vermehrte Kritik an den Arbeitsbedingungen in der Produktion. Die vorliegende Arbeit analysiert in diesem Kontext eine spezifische Lieferkette: die des Schweizer Eisbergsalats. Sie geht dabei der Frage nach, wie die Lieferkette organisiert ist und wie sich die Beziehungen der Akteure untereinander gestalten. Ausserdem untersucht sie die Arbeitsbedingungen von Hilfskräften in der Produktion und der Verarbeitung. Als Methode wurde eine Mischung aus 11 Leitfadeninterviews und einer teilnehmenden Beobachtung gewählt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass der bereits bestehende Preiswettbewerb innerhalb des geschützten Schweizer Gemüsemarktes seit dem Eintritt der Discounter Aldi und Lidl auf allen Ebenen der Lieferkette zugenommen hat. Der Preiswettbewerb und die Anforderungen an die Qualität des Produktes führen zu Zentralisierungs-, Spezialisierungs- und Verdrängungstendenzen in der Lieferkette: Die Detail- und Grosshändler zentralisierten ihre Einkaufsabteilungen, optimieren die gesamte Lieferkette, schalten teilweise den Zwischenhandel aus und geben einen Teil des Preisdruckes an die Verarbeiter und Produzenten weiter. Auf der anderen Seite setzen sich in der Produktion grosse, spezialisierte und mechanisierte Betriebe durch. Insbesondere zwischen diesen grossen Produzenten und den Händlern scheint die Abhängigkeit teilweise gegenseitig, die Macht also nicht nur auf Seiten der wenigen Detail- und Grosshändler. In Bezug auf die Arbeitsbedingungen der Hilfskräfte in der Produktion zeigen die Ergebnisse, dass die Wahrnehmung der Arbeitsbedingungen je nach Anstellungsdauer und Lebensumständen variiert. Die Arbeitsbedingungen in der Schweizer Landwirtschaft sind gesetzlich nur wenig reguliert. Alle Hilfskräfte beurteilen die langen Arbeitszeiten von im Winter bis zu 55, im Sommer bis zu über 65 Stunden pro Woche, negativ. Den tiefen Lohn beurteilen diejenigen Hilfskräfte (die Hilfskräfte sind hautsächlich Migrant*innen), die nur temporär in der Schweiz sind, als gut, diejenigen, die hier seit Jahren leben und Familie haben, als zu gering. Insgesamt beurteilen die jüngeren, nur wenige Monate im Gemüsebau Beschäftigten ihre Arbeit positiver als die langjährig als Hilfskraft tätigen. Die Beziehungen mit ihren Vorgesetzten beschreiben alle Hilfskräfte als gut. Die Ergebnisse zeigen auch, dass der Gestaltungsraum für Verbesserungen der Arbeitsbedingungen für die Hilfskräfte sehr klein ist. Auf Grund des Preiswettbewerbs und der hohen Personalkosten, die im arbeitsintensiven Gemüsebau einen wichtigen Teil des Produktpreises ausmachen, ist auch der Gestaltungsraum der Produzenten begrenzt. Es stellt sich also die Frage, was für Möglichkeiten es ausserhalb der Lieferkette gäbe, die Arbeitsbedingungen der Hilfskräfte zu verbessern. Abstract: The Swiss vegetable sector is facing various challenges. While price competition is intensifying within the sector, the demands on the means of production and the quality of the products are increasing. In addition, the sector is dependent of a few retailers and there is rising criticism of the working conditions in production. In this context, this paper analyses a specific supply chain: the Swiss iceberg lettuce supply chain. The study examines how the supply chain is organised and how the actors involved relate to each other. It also examines the working conditions of wage workers in production and processing. The method chosen was a mixture of 11 guided interviews and field observation. The results show that the already existing price competition within the protected Swiss vegetable market has increased at all levels of the supply chain since the entry of the discounters Aldi and Lidl. The price competition and the demands on the quality of the product lead to centralisation-, specialisation- and crowding-out-tendencies in the supply chain: The retailers and wholesalers centralised their purchasing departments, optimise the entire supply chain, partly eliminate the intermediary trade and pass on part of the price pressure to the processors and producers. On the other hand, large, specialised, and mechanised producers prevail. Especially between these large producers and the traders, the dependency seems to be partly mutual, so the power is not only on the side of the few retailers and wholesalers. With regard to the working conditions of wage workers in the production, the results show that the perception of working conditions varies depending on the length of employment and living conditions. Working conditions in Swiss agriculture are little regulated by law. All support workers have a negative view of the long working hours of up to 55 hours per week in winter and up to over 65 hours per week in summer. The low wages are assessed as good by those who are only temporarily in Switzerland (the wage workers are mainly migrants), and as too low by those who have lived here for years and have a family. Overall, the younger workers who have only been working in vegetable production for a few months rate their work more positively than those who have been working for many years in production. Relations with their supervisors are described as good by all wage workers. The results also show that the scope for improvement of working conditions is very small for the wage workers. Due to price competition and high labour costs, which are an important part of the product price in labour-intensive vegetable production, the producers scope is also limited. The question therefore arises as to what possibilities there might be outside the supply chain to improve the working conditions of the wage workers

Scientainment for sustainability : the eco-confessional as a new approach for life cycle thinking

For educating a wide audience on the environmental impact of their daily life decisions, the Eco-Confessional has been developed as an interactive exhibit and a serious game. In this, the effectiveness of promoting sustainable lifestyles through life cycle thinking was explored. Based upon life cycle assessments, the eco-confessional reveals the environmental impact of eco-sins and good deeds performed in everyday life in a playful way. As the Eco-Confessional was being exhibited, it was evaluated to measure the impact of the new communication format. The goal of the project was to increase sustainable behavior by influencing both the desire and the ability to make sustainable decisions. The evaluation revealed that these goals were mostly achieved. By combining life cycle data with gamification elements, the Eco-Confessional succeeded in implementing a new scientainment approach to environmental education, which promotes life cycle thinking among the public

Measurement of the top quark forward-backward production asymmetry and the anomalous chromoelectric and chromomagnetic moments in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV

Abstract The parton-level top quark (t) forward-backward asymmetry and the anomalous chromoelectric (d̂ t) and chromomagnetic (μ̂ t) moments have been measured using LHC pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, collected in the CMS detector in a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb−1. The linearized variable AFB(1) is used to approximate the asymmetry. Candidate t t ¯ events decaying to a muon or electron and jets in final states with low and high Lorentz boosts are selected and reconstructed using a fit of the kinematic distributions of the decay products to those expected for t t ¯ final states. The values found for the parameters are AFB(1)=0.048−0.087+0.095(stat)−0.029+0.020(syst),μ̂t=−0.024−0.009+0.013(stat)−0.011+0.016(syst), and a limit is placed on the magnitude of | d̂ t| < 0.03 at 95% confidence level. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Measurement of t(t)over-bar normalised multi-differential cross sections in pp collisions at root s=13 TeV, and simultaneous determination of the strong coupling strength, top quark pole mass, and parton distribution functions

Peer reviewe

An embedding technique to determine ττ backgrounds in proton-proton collision data

An embedding technique is presented to estimate standard model tau tau backgrounds from data with minimal simulation input. In the data, the muons are removed from reconstructed mu mu events and replaced with simulated tau leptons with the same kinematic properties. In this way, a set of hybrid events is obtained that does not rely on simulation except for the decay of the tau leptons. The challenges in describing the underlying event or the production of associated jets in the simulation are avoided. The technique described in this paper was developed for CMS. Its validation and the inherent uncertainties are also discussed. The demonstration of the performance of the technique is based on a sample of proton-proton collisions collected by CMS in 2017 at root s = 13 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 41.5 fb(-1).Peer reviewe

Measurement of the Splitting Function in &ITpp &ITand Pb-Pb Collisions at root&ITsNN&IT=5.02 TeV

Data from heavy ion collisions suggest that the evolution of a parton shower is modified by interactions with the color charges in the dense partonic medium created in these collisions, but it is not known where in the shower evolution the modifications occur. The momentum ratio of the two leading partons, resolved as subjets, provides information about the parton shower evolution. This substructure observable, known as the splitting function, reflects the process of a parton splitting into two other partons and has been measured for jets with transverse momentum between 140 and 500 GeV, in pp and PbPb collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 5.02 TeV per nucleon pair. In central PbPb collisions, the splitting function indicates a more unbalanced momentum ratio, compared to peripheral PbPb and pp collisions.. The measurements are compared to various predictions from event generators and analytical calculations.Peer reviewe

MUSiC : a model-unspecific search for new physics in proton-proton collisions at root s=13TeV

Results of the Model Unspecific Search in CMS (MUSiC), using proton-proton collision data recorded at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1), are presented. The MUSiC analysis searches for anomalies that could be signatures of physics beyond the standard model. The analysis is based on the comparison of observed data with the standard model prediction, as determined from simulation, in several hundred final states and multiple kinematic distributions. Events containing at least one electron or muon are classified based on their final state topology, and an automated search algorithm surveys the observed data for deviations from the prediction. The sensitivity of the search is validated using multiple methods. No significant deviations from the predictions have been observed. For a wide range of final state topologies, agreement is found between the data and the standard model simulation. This analysis complements dedicated search analyses by significantly expanding the range of final states covered using a model independent approach with the largest data set to date to probe phase space regions beyond the reach of previous general searches.Peer reviewe

Search for new particles in events with energetic jets and large missing transverse momentum in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

A search is presented for new particles produced at the LHC in proton-proton collisions at root s = 13 TeV, using events with energetic jets and large missing transverse momentum. The analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 101 fb(-1), collected in 2017-2018 with the CMS detector. Machine learning techniques are used to define separate categories for events with narrow jets from initial-state radiation and events with large-radius jets consistent with a hadronic decay of a W or Z boson. A statistical combination is made with an earlier search based on a data sample of 36 fb(-1), collected in 2016. No significant excess of events is observed with respect to the standard model background expectation determined from control samples in data. The results are interpreted in terms of limits on the branching fraction of an invisible decay of the Higgs boson, as well as constraints on simplified models of dark matter, on first-generation scalar leptoquarks decaying to quarks and neutrinos, and on models with large extra dimensions. Several of the new limits, specifically for spin-1 dark matter mediators, pseudoscalar mediators, colored mediators, and leptoquarks, are the most restrictive to date.Peer reviewe

Measurement of prompt open-charm production cross sections in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

The production cross sections for prompt open-charm mesons in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13TeV are reported. The measurement is performed using a data sample collected by the CMS experiment corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 29 nb(-1). The differential production cross sections of the D*(+/-), D-+/-, and D-0 ((D) over bar (0)) mesons are presented in ranges of transverse momentum and pseudorapidity 4 < p(T) < 100 GeV and vertical bar eta vertical bar < 2.1, respectively. The results are compared to several theoretical calculations and to previous measurements.Peer reviewe